ACRA Cancels Registration of Qualified Individual and Filing Agent for Breaches of Regulations

Singapore, 28 February 2023 – The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) cancelled the registrations of qualified individual (RQI) Liang Jiansen and filing agent (RFA) Yuansen Business Pte. Ltd. (YBPL) today, for breaches of the ACRA (Filing Agents and Qualified Individuals) Regulations 2015.

2          Liang had made a false filing with ACRA that his then employee had been appointed as a director of Roto Textile Pte. Ltd., even though this was not the case, and the employee had no knowledge of and did not consent to the appointment. Liang was earlier prosecuted by ACRA for the false filing offence under section 401(2A)(a) of the Companies Act. He pleaded guilty to the offence on 9 January 2023 and was fined S$10,000.  Under the Companies Act, any person who makes a false filing may be fined up to S$50,000 or imprisoned up to 2 years or both. 

3          Liang was the RQI in YBPL. In committing the false filing offence, Liang had breached his statutory obligations as an RQI.  At the same time, as Liang was also the sole director and shareholder of YBPL, YBPL had breached its statutory obligations by allowing such false filing to be carried out. As a result of these breaches, ACRA cancelled both the registrations of Liang as RQI and YBRL as RFA.

4          ACRA takes a serious view on false filings. Information that is filed with ACRA is relied on by members of the public and public agencies to conduct checks on the background of the business entities and the people involved. This case was aggravated by the fact that Liang had abused his authority as employer by misusing his employee's details. He had acted dishonestly in his capacity as an RQI and an RFA.

5          RQIs and RFAs must ensure that filings with ACRA are carried out in accordance with instructions from their clients, and that the filings are true and accurate. RQIs and RFAs who breach their statutory obligations may face financial penalties of up to $10,000 or $25,000 per breach respectively, or have their registrations with ACRA suspended or cancelled. 

Obligations of RQIs and RFAs

6          An RQI is an individual who provides corporate secretarial services to business entities, such as helping them file annual returns and update company information, under the Companies Act. An RFA is a business entity that provides such services. QIs and FAs must be registered with ACRA and fulfil general requirements such as being fit and proper persons, before they can be registered. The names of RQIs and RFAs whose registrations have been suspended or cancelled are published on ACRA website and BizFile+, the ACRA’s online business filing and information portal.  

7          Anyone who has reason to believe that an RQI or an RFA is suspected to have breached his or her statutory obligations should report the matter to ACRA at ED_Investigations@acra.gov.sg.  

ACCOUNTING AND CORPORATE REGULATORY AUTHORITY

28 Feb 2023